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Journal article review: Use of time in childhood and adolescence

Use
of time in childhood and adolescence: A literature review on the
nature of activity participation and depression – reviewed by Dr
Carolyn Dunford, Senior Lecturer, York St John
University.

The focus of this article was to explore the
relationship between mental health and activity participation in
childhood and adolescence. The study reviewed time use studies to
gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between children
and adolescents’ time use and depression. The authors do not
describe how the chosen studies were identified. The findings are
then applied to occupational therapy practice.

The authors start with descriptions of the
various time use research methodologies such as observational
studies, experience sampling methods, survey stylised
questionnaires and time diaries. The findings are presented as they
relate to depression and leisure, productivity, self-care and
sleep.

Depression and participation in
leisure activities: Leisure activities are often divided
into structured and unstructured activities. Unstructured
activities “have few explicit goals, are spontaneous in nature,
frequently unorganised and typically led by young people”. This
type of leisure activity is also referred to as time-out leisure
and is passive and usually solitary in nature. Structured
activities “are usually organised or directed by adults, guided by
rules, involve regular commitment, demand sustained attention, and
are goal directed with the emphasis on skill development”. Time-out
leisure has been “negatively associated with mental well-being”
whilst it has been suggested that structured activities “provide
the most developmentally enhancing ways of spending time”. Ten year
olds who spent more time on reading, hanging out or alone were more
likely to be depressed at 12 years. There is a suggestion that
physical activity may be protective against depression but this
requires further investigation.

Depression and participation in
productive activities: Productive activities for children
and young people include household chores, schoolwork, homework and
paid work for older adolescents. There is little research into this
area but one study has shown that young people with depression
spend less time performing productive activities than controls or
those who have recovered from depression. One prospective
longitudinal study suggested work with adequate pay, that was not
too stressful and related to future academic aspirations was linked
with reduced levels of depression at four year follow-up.

Depression and participation in
self-care activities: There has been little research into
this area although it is known that children with physical
disabilities spend more time on self-care, displacing other
activities.

Depressive symptoms and
sleep: It is important to be aware of developmental trends
for the amount of time children and young people spend sleeping as
this generally reduces as children grow older. It is known that
efficiency and duration of sleep is an important factor for adults
with affective disorders. One study found that increased time
sleeping for children under 13 years was linked to fewer behaviour
issues.

The authors start their summary by noting that
there is limited research but studies to date suggest spending more
time in structured leisure may be beneficial and young people with
depression spend less time in productive activities. More research
is required into the role of time spent in self-care activities.
The amount of time sleeping may be an important factor in
depression.

Relevance to occupational therapy
practice

Time use studies inform us about developmental
trends and changes with age in the use of time for children and
young people. Information gained through exploring individual
children and young people’s time use could enable us to identify
activity limitations for children and young people with depression.
This information could guide and structure interventions to
increase participation in age appropriate and meaningful
occupations. Much more research is required to enable a greater
understanding of the relationship between time use of children and
adolescents and depressive symptoms.

Whilst this paper identified many gaps in our
knowledge on the nature of activity participation and depression I
found it made interesting reading and highlighted how time use
studies are relevant to providing occupation focused
interventions.

Full reference: Desha LN and Ziviani JM (2007)
Use of time in childhood and adolescence: A literature review on
the nature of activity participation and depression. Australian
Occupational Therapy Journal 54, 4-10